Gone
by KopyKatH20
Summary: Infinity War spoilers are in this story. This takes place after the events of the movie. It mostly contains my take on what happens after the movie and the feelings of the characters toward the events in Infinity War. This story also has Rocket Raccoon, Nebula, Okoye, and Shuri as characters. Rated T for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

WARNING: Infinity War spoiler ahead

This takes place after the events of Infinity War. This will mostly be a feels story with my theory on what will happen after Infinity War

The field in Wakanda was completely silent after Thanos snapped his fingers. All it took was one tiny second for trillions of innocent lives across the universe to perish. Nothing remained of those who lost their lives except ash and dust.

The remaining Avengers, Rocket, and Wakandans had 5 minutes of complete silence. Steve, Thor, Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodey all stood close to each other, shivering with tears welling in their eyes, trying to make sense of it all. _Is this all dream? Did this really just happen?_

Rocket sat on the log sobbing, tears running down the fur on his cheeks, trying to comprehend what happened all while mourning the loss of Groot, his best friend since the beginning. Little did he know that the rest of the Guardians- his friends, his family- were also gone, with the exception of Nebula.

What remained of Wakanda wept at the loss of T'Challa, their king. Plus, with their nation demoralized and attacked, it only added to the grief.

 _Is this our fault? What do we do now? Can we come back from this?_ All of these questions ran through their minds. They all felt such guilt for not being able to stop Thanos, that they had failed to protect Earth and the rest of the universe. They felt as if the weight of all those who had died rested on their shoulders.

After standing by what remained of Avengers for a couple minutes in silence, Thor noticed Rocket sitting alone on the log, sobbing with his head buried in his paws and his ears folded back. Thor went over and sat by Rocket and put his arm around Rocket, letting him know that he's not alone.

"Where's T-Tony?" Steve managed to speak while holding back tears. The silence had broken.

"I don't know. I don't k-know." Natasha answered with uncertainty, tears coming down her cheeks.

"Wh-what are w-we going to d-do?", Steve muttered, choking up from his grief. Thor looked up, and with a broken voice replied, "I…don't think there's much we can do right now."

More silence ensued after that while everyone tried to come face to face with reality. Nothing about this situation was imaginable. Yet it was real. What was of Earth's population of seven billion had dropped to three and a half billion in less than a minute. Friends and families were torn apart, half of every city and country in the universe vanished, and above all, Thanos now had the power to do anything his heart desired. Thanos had won, and now he could enslave the remaining half of civilization just as quickly as he killed the other half.

At least forty-five minutes passed since Thanos committed the atrocity, and during that time the survivors grieved together. Okoye came into the area where the Avengers and Rocket were grieving, and while holding back tears of her own, let them know that they were welcome to stay at the Royal Palace. They all decided that it was best to stay together and support one another through this difficult and uncertain time until they could get things figured out.


	2. Chapter 2

Gone: Chapter 2

 **A/N: Hey guys! Thank you so much for checking out my story! As a huge Guardians fan, I was just as distraught and devastated by the deaths of several Marvel characters as many of you guys were. Just wanted to let you guys know that I feel with you too. Anyway, on with the story!**

The survivors stayed in the area consoling each other until nighttime set in. At that point, they decided to leave that place and head toward what remained of the Royal Palace to crash for the night. They walked as a group and stayed silent for most of the walk. The moon was full and illuminating the landscape where that fateful battle took place. The survivors were haunted as they walked by the field which was littered with the corpses of Wakandan warriors and Thanos' space-dogs. The area was so quiet, with only the sounds of chirping crickets and a soft wind brushing through the trees being heard. But, the survivors were still traumatized. They all tried to focus on getting to the next day and coping with what happened. It was highly unlikely that any of them would get much sleep at all, but they still wanted to try to find some comfort and get away from that field.

That field where Thanos caused the murder of trillions was permanently carved into the fabric of their minds. That field where Vision was savagely murdered for his mind stone, that field where Rocket and Steve saw their best friends crumble to dust, that field where the universe took a hit it could never heal from…would never leave their hearts.

Okoye and Shuri, looking just as broken and distressed as the others, invited the survivors into the palace when they showed up at the entrance. They could hear many of the remaining Wakanda citizens who had been given refuge in the palace crying and mourning over the deaths of their loved ones and their king.

Shuri showed them to a pod with five bedrooms, with a commons area in the middle. A small coffee table with three sofas and two chairs sat in the middle of the room. A small kitchenette stocked with food was in the corner of the room. A single lamp on the small table beside one of the sofas illuminated the room with soft yellow light, which provided a small sense of warmth and comfort to the survivors. Steve put his shields down and stood in the center of the room, all of the survivors turned towards him. He told them in a sorrowful, but strong voice, "We ought to try to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we should all meet here in the commons to talk together about our feelings on what happened today. Please know that none of you are alone. We need to support each other." And with that statement finished, everyone changed out of their combat gear into their sleeping clothes and found a room to sleep in.

Natasha and Steve shared a room together, and so did Rhodey and Bruce. Rocket and Thor also decided to share a room. None of them wanted to be by themselves in their current emotional states.

Each room had two beds, with a small table between each bed. A calming lamp was put on the table, and a large window showed the lights of the broken city below amidst the grand mountains and wilderness of Wakanda. The full moon shone on the rooftops and trees and mountains. The landscape looked so peaceful, as if nothing had happened. It was around 1 in the morning. As Steve looked out the window, he saw a family of gazelles happily prancing about the landscape, while humanity was suffering tremendously. It just didn't seem fair. How could such innocent people be put to death for no reason at all?

"Steve?", Natasha interrupted, as Steve had been looking out the window deep in thought for more than 2 minutes, "Are you okay?". Steve swallowed, then he turned to face Natasha and answered her in a downcast manner, holding back tears, "How can anything be ok right now?" Natasha looked down, feeling downtrodden and defeated. "Buck's gone. Sam's gone. Wanda's gone. Half of civilization is g-gone. What else do we have to l-lose?" Steve was close to tears as he looked out the window. Natasha came up and hugged him from behind as he looked out the window. "I don't know…" She said softly. "…I don't know…". Natasha cried silently for her sister, and tears fell down Steve's face for the loss of Bucky. They both climbed into bed, hoping they could catch some rest.

In the other room, Bruce and Rhodey were preparing to hit the sack for the night. Bruce was sitting on the edge of one of the beds, his hands over his forehead, feeling tremendous guilt for not being able to turn into Hulk that day. "How is t-this happening? W-why?", Bruce lamented to himself, "It's all my f-fault. I couldn't turn into H-Hulk. And now the half the universe is d-dead for it." Rhodey looked toward Bruce, and assured to him, "No one is at fault. Thanos Is the only one to blame. That purple bastard c-chose to snap his fingers. He chose to go after the stones. He started all of this. Don't blame yourself, Bruce. You did n-nothing wrong." Rhodey had tear marks on his face from grieving about the deaths of his allies, his friends. Both of them got into bed and tried to sleep and wait until tomorrow to figure things out.

Thor walked into his room and saw Rocket lying on the bed in his lounge clothes. His ears were drooping and it looked as if he had just been hit by a train. He looked so broken and devastated. The brown fur on his cheeks was matted and dry from the tears that had fallen on it earlier. Rocket was deep in thought, finding it difficult to accept the reality of the situation; Groot was gone and based on what happened, he had no idea whether the rest of the Guardians, his family, were alive or not. That thought made him put his paws up to his face and begin to cry. He felt so alone. All of the Avengers had just met him, and had hardly gotten to know him. Thor noticed Rocket was suffering and walked over toward the bed and sat down on the edge of it. He softly petted Rocket's head and arms in a comforting manner. Thor tried his best to help Rocket know that he was welcome with the Avengers until the Guardians came back. Thor thought of his brother, Loki, who was cruelly murdered by Thanos as he comforted Rocket. He also thought of Heimdall and his home world of Asgard. It was all gone. Asgard was destroyed; Thanos decimated the realm and killed many of it's most beloved, all for one Infinity Stone. Thor had tears of his own as he sat beside Rocket. Rocket had drifted off to sleep as Thor petted him. After that, Thor laid down beside Rocket and tried to sleep, fighting the sadness which enveloped him.

The pod was completely quiet 2 hours after everyone went into their rooms. It was obvious that it would do them no good to try to figure things out when they were tired. They called it a night, and hoped that tomorrow would bring some sense of hope to them.


	3. Chapter 3

Gone: Ch. 3

 **A/N: Hey y'all! I sincerely apologize for the wait. I just wanted to let you guys know that updates on this story will not be daily. I am currently very busy with Junior year coming to a close. However, I will try my best to stay on top of it. Anyway, onward! PS.**

Thor, Rocket, and the other survivors were all asleep when the sun rose on Wakanda. Thor's eyes began to slowly open and he blinked several times. The cybernetic eye that Rocket had given him took a second to adjust to the bright, yellow sunlight coming through the window that hit his face. Thor shielded his face with his hand, and cringed as the new eye tried to configure to the light. Rocket's tail was laying limp on Thor's chest. He stretched out his arms, put his feet over the edge, and got up from the bed. He looked out at the Wakandan landscape, the birds chirping and the trees moving subtly in the breeze. It was all so peaceful, in spite of the horrible events which took place the other day. He looked out at the city, and noticed burn marks and ash and debris from the battle yesterday speckling the buildings and streets, plus the absence of the bustling streets as the city's population had been cut in half. Nature was just fine, while humankind had suffered a terrible atrocity.

Rocket was still asleep, his chest moving up and down as he breathed peacefully, a light purring noise coming from his body. His body made small movements here and there, trying to readjust his position and make himself comfortable. Thor changed out of his loungewear into a shirt and jeans. He then walked out of the room and into the commons area.

None of the survivors had eaten a thing since yesterday morning, and Thor himself was feeling quite starved himself. He went into the kitchenette and found an assortment of breakfast items: pastries, cereals, fruit, and other Wakandan foods. He found a pastry and poured some water for himself and sat down on the couch. Just as he sat down, Steve walked out of his and Natasha's room. She was just waking up. "Morning." Thor said to Steve. Bruce and Rhodey were both awake and made their way out of their room to find the coffee machine. "Hey guys." Steve greeted. They greeted him back. They found a small ceramic container with a strainer they assumed to be a coffee maker. They found some Wakandan-made grounds in the cupboard and began to make coffee for everyone.

Natasha came out of her room, and greeted her friends. "How's everyone holding up?" She asked. Steve looked up from his breakfast plate. "I think we're ok for now." He answered. Everyone still looked very glum and bummed out. They had never felt so defeated before. "We should invite Shuri and Okoye to our meeting this morning. They were with us too." Steve suggested. "Agreed." Bruce answered, "They're going through just as much as we are." Everyone except Thor had finished their breakfast as Steve went to fetch Shuri and Okoye. When he came back with them into the commons, everyone had taken a seat on the couches. Except for Steve, who sat in the front of the circle in a cushioned chair.

They were about to start their meeting when Natasha realized that they were missing someone. "Where's Rocket?" She asked. Thor immediately looked up. "He was still sleeping last time I was in our room. I'll go see how he's doing." And with that, Thor put his plate on the coffee table and walked quietly into his room. Rocket's eyes were opened and he yawned, stretching his arms and legs before he got out of the bed. "Morning, Rocket." Thor greeted him. "Hey." Rocket replied tiredly. Thor held back a small laugh as the fur on Rocket's face was all pushed in from sleeping on his side. Rocket fixed up his fur, and got himself ready for the day. He nodded for Thor to leave the room while he changed clothes. "Alright. Come out here with us when you're ready, rabbit." Rocket looked at him angrily, and let out a small growl. "Just kidding." He joked. Rocket's angered expression turned into a smirk. Thor left him and closed the door, sitting back on the couch by Natasha. Rocket opened the door a minute later, wearing his navy blue jumpsuit, and walked into the commons. "Hi Rocket." Natasha said in a welcoming way. Thor had introduced him to the remaining Avengers, Shuri, and Okoye the night before. Rocket found a spot between Natasha and Thor on the couch. Steve cleared his throat and prepared to welcome them to this meeting.

"So, we all lost a lot yesterday. Hell, the whole universe lost a lot. What's on your minds?" Everyone sat still as rocks, trying to put their intense emotions and thoughts into words. Rocket's ears twitched as he thought about Groot. Shuri and Okoye couldn't forget that moment when T'Challa had vanished. Steve couldn't get Bucky turning into dust out of his mind. Finally, Natasha stepped in, and stated with sadness, "My sister, Wanda. Sh-she felt every ounce of pain to save the universe when Vision asked her to destroy the m-mind stone. She didn't want to harm Vision. She always thought there was another way. She gave everything she had to stop Thanos. But it was all in vain. That _asshole_ Thanos just reversed everything she went through and savagely mu-murdered Vision just for the stone, just so he could murder trillions of others." Tears were flowing from Natasha's eyes. She took a deep breath and recollected herself. Thor consoled her.

A good thirty seconds of silence passed. After many others expressed their grief, all of them shared their best memories about the people they'd lost. Steve reminisced about all of him and Buck's wild adventures and moments while fighting the Nazis in World War 2. Rocket had no idea what Nazis were or what World War 2 was, but he still followed along and laughed at the funny parts of the story.

Okoye and Shuri went on to tell the Avengers about all the good times they had with T'Challa. They talked about how they had felt to make him their king and how he strengthened Wakanda. Rhodey and Bruce told everyone their best memories of Sam and that time when they stopped Ultron from smashing Sokovia into the ground. Then, all the remaining Avengers there talked about how they broke up a few years ago, and how it personally affected them. Steve and Natasha let Rhodey and Bruce know about how they went into hiding, and Rhodey and Bruce let them know how it felt to be without them and how much they'd missed Cap and Natasha. Rocket had no clue about a lot of the Earthling terminology they were using, but he still followed along.

Thor let everyone in the room know about what had happened to Asgard, and how Thanos murdered Loki. He explained that Loki had actually tried to deceive and kill Thanos that day. They all thought about how Loki attacked Manhattan, but then Thor revealed to them that Thanos had sent him. The survivors all offered their sympathies to Thor, and let him know that he was welcome to stay with them on Earth.

Rocket went on to tell stories about all the good times he'd had with Groot. He told them about how they would steal stuff and be outlaws in space together. He told them about how they formed the Guardians and how Groot sacrificed himself for them. He told them about the time when Groot was a baby and danced while they fought the Abilisk.

Before Rocket could finish the story, Okoye received a notification from the palace security system. "Incoming aircraft", she notified the survivors, and then cast the security camera footage onto a hologram projection. Rocket squinted at the image, but then his eyes got wide and his ears perked up excitedly. "The Milano!" He exclaimed, and then made a dash out of the room. Everyone looked confused, then ran out of the room after him and Shuri led the group out toward the landing pad. They all watched as the starship made an approach, then slowly hovered onto the pad. Rocket watched with eagerness as the ramp slowly hissed and inched its way onto the ground. He saw two pairs of legs walking down, hoping it was the guardians.

Tony and Nebula's faces were visible as they made their way down. "Tony!" The surviving Avengers exclaimed, and ran toward him. They all hugged him with relief and happiness, thankful that they would get to see him again. He introduced them to Nebula, who shook all of their hands and greeted them. Tony then looked around the landing pad, and saw the raccoon standing there, looking anxious and unsure. Tony walked toward him and implied, "You must be Rocket." "I am." Rocket replied. To Rocket's surprise, Tony crouched down and hugged Rocket, who was confused at the man's actions. "I'm Tony Stark." Tony introduced himself, took a deep breath, patted Rocket's back, and then got up and joined the other Avengers. Rocket looked around, having no clue of what was going on. "Where's my t-team?" He asked worriedly. Nebula noticed Groot wasn't there. She then went over to Rocket and hugged him in a comforting manner, getting close to tears.

"Rocket…" She said quietly, and with much pain, tears falling down her face, "…I'm so s-sorry… Quill, Drax, Gamora, and Mantis… are all dead." Rocket couldn't believe what he had heard. He stood there motionless, staring off into space. "Quill, Drax, and M-mantis all turned to dust when Thanos killed half the universe. Thanos murdered Gamora himself so that he could retrieve the soul stone from Vormir…." Nebula choked up. It was hard for her to muster the strength to tell Rocket the horrible news. Rocket stood completely still, trying to comprehend what she told him. "With Groot gone… You're….. Y-You're the only Guardian left."


	4. Chapter 4

Gone Chapter 4

 **A/N: I sincerely apologize for the long wait, I realize that it's been quite awhile. I'll try to upload more often. I just wanted to let you guys know that this chapter includes a violent scene in which a character gets hurt. PS: Thanks for all the follows and favorites! I really appreciate your guys' interest in my story!**

Rocket stood motionless on the platform. All of the survivors looked at him with shock and sorrow. The Avengers had only lost a fraction of their team. But Rocket, on the other hand, lost his _entire_ team, his family.

Rocket collapsed onto his hands and knees, out of breath, looking like he had just been punched in the stomach. The reality of the situation was just beginning to hit him. Tears began to fall from his eyes. Thor, Nebula, and the rest of the survivors rushed over to him, making sure he was alright, all while giving him words and embraces of comfort.

"We almost had Thanos." Tony said. Everyone turned their attention to him. "We almost got the Infinity G-Gauntlet off his hand. Right as Mantis was keeping him asleep and it was almost off, Quill got into an emotional breakdown when he heard about Gamora. He… he hit Thanos on the head, which woke him up and allowed him to put the gauntlet back on. We almost had him…" Tony then felt a mountain of guilt come over him. "And… the kid… P-Parker. He followed after me on the ship. I t-tried to keep him from coming, and I failed. The kid didn't m-make it… he distentigrated." Tony began to cry. "I-I- I failed h-him… I failed his Aunt May…"

Natasha went over to him, and while giving him a hug, consoled him. "No you didn't,Tony. Thanos is the one to blame. He started all of this. The kid could've disintegrated even if he stayed on Earth. _Thanos_ is to blame for _everyone_ who died that day."

Rocket kept sobbing and crying, knowing that his whole family was gone and this would be his life now. Thor patted his back, and made him feel welcome with the Avengers. Nebula had gone onto the Milano to grab some of Rocket's things he'd left: clothes, weapons, and devices. She came back to him off the ship holding 2 of his blasters and some of his other clothes from the Milano to try to make him feel somewhat at home with the Avengers.

"Rocket, I brought some of your stuff from the Milano." Nebula informed him, and set the stack of items by him. He looked at them, thanked her, then stood up on his feet, the fur on his cheeks was caked with tears. Rhodey and Bruce offered to take Rocket's stuff back to him and Thor's room, and they did just that. All the survivors made their way inside the palace, staying close to Rocket and offering him their sympathies. Nebula took the Milano and parked it in the grass of the palace yard, then went into the palace with the others. They welcomed her and Tony into the suite and they both took one of the bedrooms.

Thor sat on the couch beside Rocket, putting his arm around him. "I lost everything, too. My world, my civilization, Asgard, Heimdall, my brother." Thor reminisced. "I'll never forget them. I can't get that scene of Thanos killing Heimdall and my brother out of my head. But, their memory still lives on in me, just as the guardians still live in you." Rocket looked devastated and alone, looking at Peter's Walkman in his paws, feeling like it was his fault that they were all gone. "I left them… I...abandoned them… I should've stayed with them… I.. d-didn't even get to say g-goodbye to them." Rocket still looked down at the Walkman, a tear fell down his face. "You helped me more than anything, Rocket." Thor reassured him, "You saved my life after I held the gate open. You helped in the effort to stop Thanos. Without you, we wouldn't have had the chance to stop him. Don't guilt trip yourself, Rocket. The Guardians wouldn't want that."

Thor placed the headphones on Rocket's head, and pressed the play button on the Walkman. "I'm Not In Love" by 10cc came on, and Rocket put his head back on the couch and listened to it, remembering all the good times he'd had with them. After the song was over, Rocket got off the couch. And took the Walkman to his room. He decided to go on a run to help clear his mind a little bit. He put on some of his athletic clothes Nebula retrieved from the Milano, and told the others where he was going. "Rocky, take this with you," Steve handed him a communicator earpiece. "In case you get into trouble and need our help out there." Rocket had a blaster in his pocket, but he realized that he still might need backup. Rocket put it over his ear and headed out the door.

Nebula and Tony sat together on another couch. Tony explained to his teammates what had happened on Titan that day. "We held back Thanos with everything we had. We did everything we could to keep him from getting the stones. But, Strange had some kind of vision. He said that there were over 14 million possible ways that the fight against Thanos would go. And…a-and…." Tony found it hard to tell them, the image of Parker fading into oblivion with tears in his eyes, begging to live burned into his mind forever. "What did Strange say? What was his prediction?" Natasha asked him, looking quite concerned. Tony took a second, swallowed, and then revealed to them, "There was only one possibility... in which we would win." He mustered the strength to tell them. They all looked shocked and bewildered by what Tony just told them. "Strange gave up the time stone to save my life. I wish he wouldn't have… I'd rather die than half the u-universe die. But, then he said that Thanos winning was the 'only way'. I just don't u-understand." Tony told them. "How? Why was it the only way? It just doesn't make sense." This information was very difficult for them to comprehend. It was just confusing and out of their minds. _What does it mean? Why was it the "only way"?_

Steve then added in, "I didn't know Strange very well, but considering he had the time stone, I think he knew the way this would all turn out. Maybe there's a reason for all this. I know it's horrible to think that there was a reason for half the universe to die, but I think Strange was onto something. Maybe there's a way to reverse all of this." Everyone looked at him. "How?" Rhodey came in, "How can we reverse this?" Bruce then added in, "I saw how powerful Thanos was with just two infinity stones, hell, I felt the full effect of it." He remembered fighting Thanos on the remains of the _Statesman._ "There's no telling how strong he is with all six. We saw what he was capable of. He just plucked the stone out of Vision's head with little effort at all." Natasha looked up "Bruce is right, Thanos is basically a God now. He can do whatever he wants to _anyone."_ "Not exactly." Thor said, "You saw that he was still vulnerable when I stabbed him in the heart. He's not invincible, even with all six stones in his gauntlet."

Suddenly, and to everyone's surprise, Steve heard a buzzing and ringing in his pocket, realizing that Rocket was calling. "Rocky, everything ok?" Everyone perked up and listened in. They heard nothing but the sounds of blasters and Rocket calling Steve for help, sounding like he was in pain. The survivors all got up quickly and scrambled out of the suite

 **30 Minutes Earlier**

Rocket jogged through the Wakandan jungle, pacing himself at a good running pace, the leaves and forest floor crunching under his feet. The sun was about to set, filling the sky with beautiful shades of blue, pink, yellow and orange. Rocket was breathing steadily as he ran, feeling his emotions die down as the "runner's high" began to hit him. He felt slightly relaxed and somewhat eased of mind as he ran, feeling the soft breeze on the fur of his arms and legs. He stopped for a water break, finding a small spring to cool off in. As he was drinking the water from the spring, his ears perked up and turned in the direction of a faint crackling sound in the forest, like something sneaking through the woods. He pulled out his blaster pistol, and aimed it toward where the sound was coming from. He looked on edge, not sure of what to expect.

All of a sudden, some kind of being sprang out from some bushes, and ran directly toward Rocket, trying to spear the raccoon with his lance. With a quick 3 shots from his blaster, Rocket put 3 burning holes into the male's chest. The male fell over dead. Rocket breathed heavily, just as another female being came out and ran toward him, holding a spear. He managed to land a shot in her side, she doubled over as she was wounded. Before Rocket could shoot her dead, another male warrior came up behind him, grabbed rocket by the throat, and slammed him onto the ground. He pressed the button on his communicator to call Steve. The male then picked Rocket up by the throat and slammed him backfirst into a tree. Rocket grunted at the impact, and his pistol fell to the ground. Rocket punched and scratched at the male's large arm, but it was of no use. The creature's skin was tough as leather.

The female came over and looked at Rocket, his face filled with anger and fear. "Well, well. Looks like this is the end for you. You and your little friends will pay for opposing Thanos, and for the deaths of his children." She coldly stated, a smirk on her face. "And for killing our ally." the male made a gesture toward the dead warrior on the ground. "Lagor," the female said to the male. "A quick death is too good for him. I want this to be as painful as possible." Rocket looked afraid, wriggling and squirming, trying to escape the male's grip. He then punched Rocket hard in the head, his head was ringing and he was dazed, nearly losing consciousness. Then, the male threw Rocket on the ground again and then grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He then lifted Rocket into the air, and just as Rocket regained full consciousness, the male slammed the raccoon face-first hard into the same tree.

Rocket yelled in pain, the impact brought immense pain to his small body. A cut had formed on his forehead, fresh blood trickling from the wound onto the fur on his face. The male slammed Rocket into the tree again, harder than the first time. An audible crack could be heard as Rocket's arm hit the tree at a bad angle and the bone snapped.

He screamed in agony before being slammed into the tree again and again, each time harder and harder.

He could feel each forceful impact of his body smashing into the tree; his body was bruised and beaten from the tremendous force coming upon it, each hit causing the pain to get worse. The cut on Rocket's forehead continued to bleed, staining the white fur above his eyes and on his muzzle with crimson, the cut causing a sharp ache in Rocket's head. Tears of pain fell freely from his eyes along with cries of agony as his hurt and broken body was smashed, pounded, and beaten over and over.

After the fifth hit to the tree, Rocket's ribs began to break. One of the sharp edges of his shattered ribs protruded into his body and pierced his right lung, causing it to collapse. Rocket let out a cry of pain, then began to breathe laboriously, his lungs not taking in sufficient air. The male slammed the raccoon into the tree a seventh time before the female ordered him, "Alright, Lagor. That'll do. Let him suffocate." She noticed that Rocket was having a hard time breathing. He held Rocket by the scruff in the air, the raccoon crying in tremendous pain, gasping for breath. He felt like his body had been crushed to pieces.

Lagor threw Rocket violently into the dirt. Rocket lied there on his back with his arms out, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to breathe normally. The female went over to his broken body, and with a smirk on her face, slowly pushed her boot down upon Rocket's fractured arm. The raccoon squirmed in pain, trying to push her boot off with his other arm, only to have it forcefully kicked away by her other boot. He closed his eyes tight as she stepped on his arm, feeling like a thousand needles were stabbing it at once.

Before she could abuse the raccoon any further, some kind of weapon flew through the air and struck her in the head, killing her instantly. Her body fell over beside Rocket. He looked closer, his vision slightly blurred. _It was Thor's axe._ The male let out a battle cry and ran toward the rescue team, only to be hit in the face by Cap's shield. The male fell over, out cold from the hit. Rocket put his bloodied head down with relief, still struggling to breathe well.

"I think we're clear; Scanning the woods for any more threats." Shuri informed the squad as she pulled out her scanner. Cap looked at Rocket, and saw the blood on his face and his cutoff shirt, noticing that he was not breathing normally. He immediately went over to the injured mammal. "Oh my God. Guys! I need you to come over here! Rocket's wounded!" They all ran over, their eyes filled with horror. Thor ran over to Rocket's side, and knelt down beside him. "Don't worry, my friend. We'll fix you up," he reassured the raccoon. Just then, Bruce ran over beside Rocket, being skilled in the medical field. Everyone else followed him, surrounding Rocket. Natasha looked closer at the raccoon, seeing his injuries. "Oh shit…" She said with horror.

"Guys, give us more room. He needs some air." Bruce ordered the group, and they all formed a larger perimeter. "Rocket, Bruce is going to take care of you," Thor told him, still kneeling on the jungle floor. Bruce removed Rocket's cutoff so that he could examine his chest. Bruce slightly felt the bones with his hand in Rocket's chest, noticing the fractured ribs and that one had fallen into his body cavity. He then looked at his arm, feeling where the break was. "Multiple broken ribs," he said aloud. "One of them pierced his right lung, collapsing it. Segmental fracture of the humerus. Large gash on the forehead. Bottom line is, he's hurt bad. He needs treatment as soon as possible and he's not breathing well." The others looked concerned, not sure of how Rocket was going to come back from this. "We need to get him treatment, _now_. Where is the nearest hospital?" Shuri looked at Bruce, a look of loss in her eyes. "It… was made unoperational due to the battle, as the electrical systems were destroyed. But some of the equipment and supplies are still intact." She informed him. He gulped, then stated, "Alright. I need a group to go to the hospital and grab a life support machine and plenty of medical supplies. We will take care of Rocket in our suite." And with that said, Thor picked Rocket up gently with his beefy arms, trying his best not to hurt Rocket any further.

Rocket tried to stay awake, but the lack of oxygen began to take over him. His eyes shut, and the world went dark.


End file.
